ONEONTA, NY – Visiting Ithaca outscored Hartwick 37-29 in the second half and won a 65-55 decision in a game between the Empire 8 Conference's two front runners on Friday night at Lambros Arena. The win for the Bombers leaves them two games in front of the second-place Hawks with three left to play as they close in on the top seed in the upcoming league playoffs.
            The Hawks got as close as five points twice in the final three and half minutes of the contest. A pair of free throws from Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mt. Mercy Academy) allowed 'Wick to close to 55-50 with just 2:39 remaining. The Hawks had another look after a stop but it was off the mark and the Bombers would proceed to go on a big 7-0 run over the next two minutes to pull away late. They also sank 5-of-6 from the free-throw line with under 34 seconds left.
            Purcell would finish the night with a game-high 18 points. She also added four steals and four rebounds. Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) scored 15 points and hit a game-high four three-pointers. Brittney Dumas (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow) contributed 11 points and a team-high six rebounds and Carlee Hirt (Beacon, NY/John Jay-East Fishkill) chipped in with six points and four rebounds.
            The Bombers would start strong in the game as they sank their first four field-goal attempts for a quick 8-0 lead. Later, a 12-4 Hawks' run would give them their first lead of the game, 19-18, with 8:08 remaining in the opening stanza. Dumas, Purcell, Foglia, Lee Arduini (Albany, NY/Academy of the Holy Names), and Hirt all contributed baskets in the 'Wick spurt.
            After Ithaca grabbed the lead back, baskets from Hirt and Dumas evened the game at 25 and a free throw from Foglia forged the Hawks ahead, 26-25, with 1:14 left. A Kathryn Campbell three-pointer with roughly 30 seconds left regained the advantage for IC at the break, 28-26, and it never trailed again.
            An 11-0 run for the Bombers to start the second half upped the margin to 13 points, 39-26. Ithaca kept its double-digit lead for seven and a half minutes until back-to-back Foglia triples pulled Hartwick back to within seven, 45-38, with under 10 minutes showing on the game clock.
            The Hawks whittled the deficit to just four points twice inside of nine minutes remaining but it would be as close as they would get. Purcell's free throws would later cut the deficit to five but a layup from Geena Brady followed by a three-pointer from Jenn Escobido would make it a 10-point game with less than a minute left and essentially put the game away.
            Brady made 4-of-5 from the field and 5-of-6 from the line for her team-best 13 points. She tied for a game-high in rebounds with Mary Kate Tierney with eight apiece. Tierney also dished out eight assists and scored eight points. Christie Bonacci scored 11 for the Bombers and Escobido closed the night with nine points and six boards.
            The Hawks shot 37.7% (20-for-53) on the evening. Ithaca made 47.1% (24-for-51). Both teams made six three-pointers and they were relatively even on the glass (Hartwick 33, Ithaca 30).
            Hartwick will host Elmira College tomorrow at Lambros Arena. The Hawks will honor senior guard Marie Davison (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs) and senior manager Jenna Kurtz prior to the game. In addition, Foglia will have a shot at breaking the 1,000-point barrier at home. She is 14 points shy of the milestone.
            Tip-off between the Soaring Eagles and Hawks is 4 p.m. The two teams met on January 25 in Elmira with Hartwick coming away with a 62-44 win.